Soups to Soothe Your Chronic Pain
When you use foods and soups to soothe your chronic pain, there's really not a whole lot you have to know. You have to know that excessive amounts of free radicals are going to cause your pain levels to rise astronomically, and that certain foods that create free radicals will contribute to your pain.
So what foods cause this increase in free radical production? It's going to be foods such as fried foods, sugar, foods with a high glycemic index, foods that are heated to high temperatures (high temperatures increase advanced glycation endproducts that clump proteins and make them dysfunctional as well), foods that contain oils that are unstable (the only stable oils are butter, coconut oil and saturated fats found in meats).
Foods that Cause Pain
The following foods on this list will be tied to your pain:
- chips
- baked goods that contain incorrect oils (corn oils, soy oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, and other seed oils)
- candies and high sugar chocolate bars
- fries from McDonalds and other fast food restaurants
- pizza
- microwaved foods
- foods that are broiled without protective herbs such as rosemary, oregano and basil
- hot dogs
- breads that contain 'bad' ingredients that oxidize
- donuts
- puffed rice or puffed corn products
- Clif(TM) protein bars (these have a high Glycemic index)
- tofu desserts (have a high Glycemic index)
Making Soups
This leaves you plenty of options for creating your soups. You could have any type of vegetable soup. You could make thin soups or thick soups. You could include milk in soups. You could add meats, poultry or fish to your soups. You could add plenty of herbs to your soups, which will eliminate any free radical that is even thinking of forming.
Since it's very close to the winter season right now, you have an added benefit from making yourself vegetable soups: the antioxidants in the soups will prevent you from coming down with the usual winter colds and flu, especially around the holidays.
Wondering how to make soup? It's simple, even if you have never made soups before. Here's a set of step-by-step instructions:
- When you go grocery shopping, pick up a big beef bone, 3 pounds of soup meat, a whole chicken, a few pounds of salmon, or a lamb roast. Also you'll want plenty of vegetables – onions, leeks, green onions, pearl onions, ginger, squash, zucchini, carrots, parsnips, cabbage, bell peppers, lemons, limes, spinach, watercress, celery, and whatever else strikes your fancy in the produce aisle.
- When ready to make your soup, get out a big 6-quart soup pot. Place the bone and the meat in the pot. You may opt to sear the meat (without the bone) first for about 3 minutes, which will give it a roasted flavor.
- Next add your veggies. For more flavor, you may opt to saute the onions and garlic in a saute pan prior to adding them to the soup pot. Otherwise, add the veggies to the pot and fill the pot ½ to two-thirds full.
- Add your water to the pot.
- Add any herbs and spices.
- Cover and simmer for a few hours on low or until soup is done.
Soup is one of the easiest foods to make. Now that you know how to make soup, experiment as much as you can this winter, as you can easily master them in one season. Make a new soup every week, and eat it freely. It's not a high calorie food, and you'll feel comforted.